District Administration- August 2008 - (Page 16)

BRIEFINGS NewsUpdate Peak Enrollment Brings New Challenges PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT in the 2008-2009 school year is expected to reach a new high of 50 million students, up from just over 49 million, with minority students making up 43 percent of public school enrollment overall, says a new report from the U.S. Department of Education. “The Condition of Education 2008,” an annual portrait of education in the United States carried out by the DOE’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences, paints a picture of U.S. education that speaks to schools’ testing successes and increasingly diverse student bodies, but also presents myriad budgetary struggles amid a sluggish economy, says AASA executive director Daniel A. Domenech. “With more students, schools must deliver more technology, more buses, more materials, higher budgets, … but in some places the reverse is happening,” said Domenech in an interview. “Schools are foregoing new textbook purchases and staﬀ hires, and are increasing class sizes.” But schools are also making great strides in student achievement levels. The report compiled scores from the lat- Students Allowed to Choose Top SAT Scores HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS trying to spin their college applications in the best possible light will soon be able to choose which SAT scores to share with admissions oﬃcers and which to hide, the College Board recently announced. Under the new policy, starting with the class of 2010, students who take the SAT or the supplemental SAT subject exams multiple times will be able to decide whether to let colleges see one, some, or all of their scores, but will not let them mix and match their individual scores from diﬀerent testing dates. Some admissions oﬃcers say the new plan might backﬁre for students applying to colleges that consider the best sub-scores of the three sections from an applicant’s various attempts—for example, a math score from junior year and a writing score from senior year. Some critics see the move as nothing more than a marketing decision to increase the SAT’s attractiveness. The College Board announced the plans at a time when the rival ACT exam is gaining in popularity, and on the heels of a study released by the College Board saying that the threesection SAT—established three years ago—predicts college success no better than the old test and not quite as well as a student’s high school grades. est National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which showed approximately 20-point increases in mathematics for fourth- and eighth-graders and fourand three-point increases for fourth- and eighth-graders, respectively, on reading. Domenech says even the modest reading score improvements are praiseworthy when considered in light of the inﬂux of ELL, special ed, and impoverished and underprivileged minority students in schools. “We should be looking at a reduction in test scores!” he says. “It’s very cyclical,” says Domenech. “Every 10 years or so these issues come to a head. Schools will survive, but not without eﬃciency and creativity.” Students Weigh Texting Against Writing ALTHOUGH FEW CAN DENY THE IMPACT OF “ECOMMUNICATION” on the in-class writing of today’s students, what may come as a surprise is that 60 percent of students themselves do not consider such communication to be “writing.” A new survey, “Writing, Technology and Teens,” conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, says that for students, the enjoyment of personal writing, both online and oﬀline, does not necessarily correlate with an enjoyment of school writing. Nevertheless, 98 percent of teenagers surveyed say formal writing it as least “somewhat important” for future success, and almost 60 percent consider it “essential.” The full report is available at www.pewinternet.org. 16 August 2008 District Administration http://www.pewinternet.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration- August 2008

District Administration - August 2008
Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Curriculum
English Language
8th Annual Salary Survey
Do You Know the Drill?
The Evolution of Notification Systems
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solutions
Technology Books
Profession Opinion
Supervisor's Opinion
Crisis Response
Speaking Out
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration- August 2008